KINGSTON, N.Y. -- Lisa Hart lives a healthy lifestyle and truly did not believe she was at risk for breast cancer.

But the Shokan resident said that last summer, just before her 50th birthday, she noticed some pain in her left breast and a bit of itchiness there. She said she then noticed a firmness in the breast and did a self-exam, followed by research online. The firmness did not seem like a cyst, Hart said, and she thought it needed to be checked.

"It was a pretty large mass under there," Hart said recently.

The problem for the self-employed gardener was that she did not have health insurance.

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Hart said she spoke to a close friend who had been diagnosed with breast cancer years before. She said her friend told her to call the Cancer Services Program of the Hudson Valley.

The Cancer Services Program, which is funded by the state, offers free breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screenings for individuals who are uninsured or underinsured.

Through that program, Hart was able to receive a mammogram at HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley's Fern Feldman Anolick Center for Breast Health. She said the results of the mammogram "came back looking suspicious," so a biopsy was performed. That biopsy showed she had "triple negative breast cancer," Hart said, adding that it was a fairly aggressive type that grows faster than others.

Hart said she was able to enroll in a fast-track program through Medicaid, which helped her pay for treatment. She also said she was assisted financially because she was unable to work for 10 months while on chemotherapy. Hart said she could not perform her work as a gardener because the sun would interfere with the type of chemotherapy with which she was being treated.

Chemotherapy lasted through December and the tumor in her breast responded, Hart said. She said she was then able to have a lumpectomy in late December, followed by radiation treatment for six and a half weeks.

"That's when I decided I didn't want this to happen to other women," Hart said.

Hart said she realized she knew little about the risk of getting breast cancer and had been given misinformation as well. She said she had never had a mammogram before her diagnosis and should have been getting them annually after turning 40. Hart said she also did not know the importance of getting a mammogram and believed the risk for breast cancer was very low. She said she did not know the risk was that one in eight women would be diagnosed with the disease.

"I had no clue it was so prevalent," Hart said.

Hart said her own experience showed her she wanted to switch careers and get involved in education and outreach. She said she wanted to reach out to other women who, like her, did not know the risk they faced and the importance of getting their mammograms.

"I'm really inspired," Hart said. "I really don't want other women to suffer unneccessarily." She said she is taking different types of training to meet her goal, but is still gardening in the meantime.

Hart said through her experience she also became involved with the HealthAlliance Oncology Support Program and its Breast Education and Breast Outreach Program, called BEBOP for short.

The Breast Education and Breast Outreach Program is geared toward informing uninsured and underinsured women about the free mammograms and clinical breast exams available to them through the Cancer Services Program while also addressing any barriers that might be preventing them from obtaining those screenings, according to provided information.

Hart said she became involved in an ad hoc committee to discuss how to reach women over the age of 40 who needed to know about the Cancer Services Program. She said she has done other volunteer work for the Breast Education and Breast Outreach Program, and hopes to be further involved in the future.

Ellen Marshall, director of the HealthAlliance Oncology Support Program, said the Breast Education and Breast Outreach Program was made possible through a grant from Ulster Savings Bank. She said that program is really about getting word out to the public about the free screenings available through the Cancer Services Program. Marshall said it is also geared at letting the public know about the support and services offered through the Oncology Support Program.

The Oncology Support Program provides support to people in the community who are dealing with cancer, either as a patient, a loved one of a patient or as a caregiver, Marshall said. She said the program offers support groups, healing arts programs and wellness programs. Most of the programs operate out of the Herbert H. and Sofia P. Reuner Cancer Support House at 80 Mary's Ave. in Kingston, Marshall said.

Marshall said a lot of the risk for cancer comes from an individual's lifestyle, though there are factors beyond a person's control.

The classes offered through the Oncology Support Program include exercise and cooking programs, as well as an ongoing memoir writing workshop, among others. It also holds "survivorship" events.

Hart said she took advantage of a variety of programs through the Oncology Support Program while she was out of work and taking chemotherapy. She said she was involved in programs at least twice a week.

The services the Oncology Support Program offers are "great," Hart said, adding that, "we are so lucky to have them."